We are back (I think)

It has been over 2 weeks since I have updated this blog. We have been working on plans and waiting for Iran and Ofer. We did meet last week but no work has been done. Today hopefully we restarted the process. Ofer, Iran, Alan, Josh, Yossi, and Benny were all there. We discussed the plumbing. They explained that by law we have to be hooked up to the main sewerage line. (It is interesting that we received a permit to build the house without the connection.) Actually, in order to get our Tofes 4, we must either be hooked up to the main sewerage line or have a plumbing engineer review and sign the plans. Sounds good, sounds like we should find an engineer, however, no engineer will sign plans. I spoke to about 5 engineers and not one agreed to work with us.
But, there is always a solution... the plan will show a hook up to the main sewerage line. All the water will run to that line. After we get our Tofes 4 we will put the purifying system in the ground in the path to the sewerage line. The purified water will be pumped out to the fields as we originally planned.
Harry and Ofer still have hopes for the cooling system. (Running pipes under the ground and bringing the cool air into the house through the basement.) I am more of a pessimist but Alan estimates the total cost at about $1000. (All of the sudden, $1000 seems like a small amount.) At that price, I may be willing to see what happens.

The Pit

Sunday, after I heard about Shmulik, I assumed that they would stop working on the house until after the shiva. By chance, I was home in the morning and drove by the building site. I was surprised to find Yossi (the plumber) there. And I was more surprised to see that he had an old copy of the plans in his hands.

He was working on the connection from the basement bathroom to the drainage pit (which I now know is a בור משיכה, in Hebrew ) . The problem was that the old plans that were in his hands show the bathroom in a different location from where it is on the current plan. When I saw what was happenning and then finally understood what was going on, I drove home and printed a copy of the basement plans from my computer. Yossi said it is not a problem to leave it there. I spoke to Josh and Alan, and both said it is not a problem to move it. So, if everyone is right, it is not a problem. I also think, it is not a problem, it will just have to be moved.

Shmulik Ronen, our contractor passed away on Shabbat. He had been sick, but his it seemed that the cancer was controlled. He died at his home on Saturday. From the chance I had to work with him, he seemed to be a patient and fair man. It was clear his sons admired him.

Josh the Plumber and Benny the Electrician

Josh is our new plumber. Josh the Plumber is not replacing Yossi (Joe) the plumber. Yossi is Shmulik's plumber and actually installs the system. Josh is designing the water system. Josh worked in hi-tech, was laid off twice, decided to learn plumbing, and seems pretty happy with his choice. We were at his apartment for over 2 hours deciding what to do and looking for manholes on the plans. In the end we are still continuing with our (Harry's) idea to recycle ALL the water.

Benny the Electrician insisted we start our eletrical plan with a visit to a lighting store. I met the owner of the store and he reviewed our plans, and suggested where we should put in lights and what type. I learned a lot about types of lighting and how to use lighting. I learned that it is best to put in plugs wherever you might possibly need them now rather than to find out later that one is missing and try to add it (in Hebrew it is called a נקודה (point), I think that translates to plug). I also learned that each plug costs 200 NIS.

You can see from the pictures that they have done a lot of work on the basement. Initially, they laid gravel and then poured cement. You can actually see where the rooms will be.

Building Permit (היתר בניה)

The building permit is in our hands!

I have been going back and forth to our local office for 3 years. The secretary there who knows me as Suan (another story for another blog) congratulated me today and told me she has yet another friend who will copy the plans for a good price. Of course I thanked her for ALL help. I still have to go back one more time at the end. Once a house is completed according to the plan, you have to complete a Form 4 (Tofes 4). Then someone comes out and makes sure you built what was on your plan. If you did, or at least they think you did, you get the permananent hookup to the electric company. Then the way it works, is that you can make all your "illegal" changes. For example, we were not allowed to include an entrace to our basement from the outside. So, many friends have suggested that we build the doorway and then seal it. After we recieve the Tofes 4, we can open the door.

Water, Water, Everywhere

So that's where we are, trying to figure out the water system. We originally wanted to recycle all the water, and there are systems that do that. However, not in Israel..yet. We spoke to a company in the US and they are willing to set us up. They sent us an estimate and specifications. As far as I can see, the biggest problem is maintenance. They are "negotiating" with someone here but it is not yet in place. In the meantime, if we buy their system, they would train us to maintain the system. We would even learn how to clean it. That made me very nervous.

After a lot of phone calls we decided to hook into the moshav's sewereage line. We will probably send all our waste water (remember the black water) to the sewereage line. And then we can use our other water (that's the grey) water to water the fields.